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Mourning blurs the lines between the living and the dead.
The intersection between life and death is a recurring theme throughout Dubliners. It makes sense, then, that Dubliners’ first short story is an exploration of death and the process of remembering the dead. “The Sisters” follows a young, unnamed boy as he attempts to process the death of an elderly priest who used to be his mentor. However, the mourning process only leads to further confusion as the lines between the living and the dead are blurred. Father Flynn’s death, and the controversy surrounding Father Flynn’s legacy, causes the narrator to reflect on his memories with his recently deceased mentor. However, as the story progresses, it becomes abundantly clear that the narrator is not simply remembering Father Flynn—he is haunted by him. This is best exemplified by the moment halfway through the text when the narrator has a nightmare in which Father Flynn’s grotesque face hovers menacingly above him. Father Flynn’s presence imposes on the narrator to such a degree that the young boy attempts to hide from the apparition under his blankets. Father Flynn may be dead but the mourning process has given his memory a ghostly power and he imposes his presence onto the living.
Memories can be deceptive and misleading.
Memories, and the process of recollection in general, are complicated because they are often influenced by the present—even if it is not our intention. It is easy to let current events confuse or muddle moments from one’s past, especially when one is going through a traumatic or, at the very least, high-stress event. This is the case for the narrator of “The Sisters” who does not know what to make of either Father Flynn’s passing or the memories that he has of him. There are many moments throughout the text when the narrator fluctuates rapidly from mourning Father Flynn’s death to finding a sense of freedom in his passing. This is best exemplified by the many moments throughout the text when the narrator’s good memories of Father Flynn are taken over by distressing images. For example, the narrator fondly remembers how Father Flynn used to teach him about history and Latin when the narrator would visit his house. However, the narrator’s pleasant memory deteriorates into a sinister description of how Father Flynn used to smile at him with his tongue resting on his lower lip—a habit which made the narrator feel “uneasy.” The narrator also feels as if he has “been freed from something by [Father Flynn’s] death” while simultaneously judging himself for feeling that way. The narrator’s deceptive and misleading memories surrounding Father Flynn are unnerving and they contribute to the air of confusion and uncertainty that encompasses the text. The narrator does not know what to make of his memories and, as a result, neither does the reader.
Adults do not value children.
There is an extended sequence towards the beginning of the “The Sisters” in which the narrator’s aunt and uncle and their family friend, Old Cotter, have a lengthy discussion about how young boys should be raised. The aunt believes that the narrator benefited from studying with Father Flynn. The uncle and Old Cotter are less convinced and think that exercise and rough-housing with boys his own age is important for growth and development. This entire conversation occurs at the supper table where the narrator is also sitting. Interestingly, none of the adults ask the narrator, the only child in the room, how he feels about his education. This moment is not an isolated incident and is, instead, just one example of the many times that the adult characters in “The Sisters” have lengthy conversations with the narrator present where they make no attempt to include him. They likely did not ask the narrator his opinions because they did not value his hypothetical contribution to the conversation. This is particularly troubling within the context of “The Sisters” because two of the adults in the text express concern about the inappropriate relationship between Father Flynn and the narrator without once asking the narrator to weigh in on the issue. This trend points to the systemic disconnect between adults and the children that they do not care to understand.
